ID THEFT NEWS – WEEKLY UPDATE

Lawyer Helps Identity Theft Victims 

Over 12 million people an identity theft victim every year.  Our firm represents victims of identity theft.  With offices in Alabama, Georgia and Texas, and relationships with lawyers in Florida, we are positioned to help identity theft victims throughout the South.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) provides identity theft victims with rights under federal law. Identity theft victims have the right to request two (2) free credit reports every 12 months.  This is in addition to the right to an annual free credit report.  Also, fraud victims can add a fraud alert to their credit files with Equifax, Experian and Trans Union.  

Identity theft victims have the right to dispute credit report errors to Equifax, Experian and Trans Union.  Once the credit reporting agencies receive your dispute, they must conduct a reasonable “re-investigation.”  When the credit reporting agencies receive an identity theft report, they must block fraudulent information from appearing on the credit file in 4 business days.

Download the identity theft report form HERE. 

If the credit reporting agencies break the law, then consumers have the right to sue them in federal court. Consumers may be entitled to actual and statutory damages, plus attorney’s fees and costs.  Micah Adkins represents victims of identity theft in federal court all over the country.  Call us 24/7 at 1-800-263-9091 for a free case review.

Here are some of the identity theft stories we are following:

ALABAMA

Birmingham, AL – Former Social Security Administration worker in Birmingham … Alabama’s News Leader – Brown is charged with identity theft, theft of government property and wire fraud. Authorities say Brown was working in a Social Security telephone 

FLORIDA

Gainesville, FL – Local woman, 59, caught up in ID theft scam Gainesville Sun – A Gainesville woman who gave her bank account information to someone she met online has been arrested on multiple charges including grand theft …

GEORGIA

Atlanta, GA – Georgia man indicted in inmate identity theft scheme Online Athens  – Federal prosecutors say a grand jury has indicted an Atlanta man accused of using prisoners’ personal information in a nationwide 

LOUISIANA

Houma, LA – Tip: Burglars use social media to target homes Houma Courier  – Question: I keep hearing about new identity-theft scams. What are they? Answer: Identity thieves are using public hotspots to set up fake Wi-Fi  

NORTH CAROLINA

Charlotte, NC – Statesville woman charged with identity theft Charlotte Observer  – A Statesville woman was arrested and charged with identity theft and other offenses after $15,000 in transactions were conducted using a man’s stolen 

TEXAS

Austin, TX – New law cracks down on child identity theft KVUE  – Identity theft is, you know, every day and anyone, and it doesn’t matter who you are,” said Jeffrey Horowitz, an Austin resident. “It can happen when …

NATIONAL NEWS

Make Identity Theft Protection a Priority in 2014 Wall Street Journal  – Every day we hear more about the growing crime of identity theft,” said Trey Loughran, president of the Personal Solutions unit at Equifax. “Even so 

Swiped: 5 lessons from the Target card breach CNBC.com – The theft of 40 million credit and debit card records from Target wasn’t the It prevents an identity thief from opening new accounts in your name.

Are you an identity theft victim?   Do you have credit report errors? Have you disputed the credit report errors to the credit bureaus? Have the credit bureaus “verified” information on your credit report that does not belong to you and refused to delete the information? Then you may have the right to actual or statutory damages under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Contact us 24/7 for a free case review at 1-800-263-9091